FIRMWARE GENERATED REGISTER FILE FOR USE IN HARDWARE VALIDATION

摘要

When testing or validating a hardware system, a script file representing a portion of the firmware may be used to test the system instead of using the firmware code itself. For example, the script file may be plurality of register commands that perform the same initialization sequence as the firmware. Before connecting the hardware system to firmware drivers, the script file may be used to debug the initialization sequence. Instead of generating this script file manually, a firmware testing tool may be used. While executing the firmware, the tool may record the different register access commands performed during the initialization process. The script file is then generated programmatically using these recorded commands without requiring input from the system designer. The generated script file may then be tested on the hardware system to determine whether the command sequence in the script file forces the hardware system into the desired state.

主权项

1. A method of testing a design of a hardware system, comprising:
executing firmware in a firmware testing tool, the firmware testing tool comprising a simulated model of the hardware system, wherein, while executing the firmware, the firmware testing tool writes data to registers in the simulated model that force the simulated model into a desired state; recording values written to the registers while executing the firmware; and converting the recorded values into a plurality of register commands to generate a script, wherein the script is configured to force a physical representation of the hardware system into the desired state.